Pieces
by Coleseyebrows
Summary: Kiyuo only has pieces of her life intact. She has but one thing she loves, her son Konomi. She dreams of giving her son a life better than hers; she doesn't want to let him suffer how she did. And while she is focused on her son, and loves him dearly, she longs to know what happened to her husband 11 long years ago. Rated T for safety!
1. Prologue

Prolouge

I climbed tiredly. I had to get to the top. I had one chance, and it was him. I had only one option. And that option led me here. I looked up. I was close. I could see the glowing of a torch. It was nearly out, but I could see it, and it gave me hope. I took another step, clutching my bundle as it was all I had left. I trekked up the slope of the mountain stairs, my legs ready to give out with each movement. The rain enhances every one of my sorrows. My husband was gone. He up and left, promising me he would return to me. Until that point, I never once doubted his love for me. He would sing me to sleep; he would praise my every movement. He worshiped the ground I walked on.

And then he was gone.

My father died in the epidemic of smallpox that washed over our village. And without him, our town is left defenseless without a blacksmith. My mother could not save him. She was the most talented woman I knew when it came to healing. And I took after her, doing all I could to assume her knowledge so I could take her place. When my father died, my mother rejected me. Widows were considered cursed, and were often thrown out of the village brutally. It hurt that they considered me a widow instead of someone who has been abandoned, but that was who I became. And when my mother decided I was a widow, the rest of the town did too. And now, this monastery, with a glowing torch faintly glowing, was my only hope. And finally, I was there. I took a deep breath, relief slowly filling my soul. I reached up to pound on the door when my bundle began howling with hunger. "Shh, baby! One moment, you will be safe." I held him tightly with one of my arms, and pounded harder with the other. "Wu! Wu," I screamed, begging for his help. "Wu!"

I heard rapid footsteps, the clicking of multiple of locks and finally, the door opened. I was breathing heavily, waiting for his face to appear. Wu.  
The only friend that stood true every day of my life. He had always been patient with me and my pursuits. He approved of my husband, he approved of everything I was and never asked for me to change. He was like my father, a constant light of guidance, and my only pillar of support. When he saw me, he was surprised. "Kiyuo?" His voice was filled to the brim with concern. He looked around frantically.

"Wu, please," I said holding my crying son. "Help me… I've been kicked out. They call me a widow."

Wu pursed his lips, and pulled me inside. "Don't be afraid anymore. I am here, and I will protect you."

His words nearly brought me to tears. "Thank you." I said. "I will only be here for a few-"

"You don't need to limit your time here." He said leading me inside. "You are welcome and wanted here. And so is your son." I held my son tighter as he spoke. "Stay where I can keep an eye on you. A woman in your position will never be able to survive around here. Not alone anyway. Please, stay."

I nodded. "Thank you." I said. "I just wish I didn't have to run to you. I don't want to trouble you so soon after Morro,"

"Morro was destined to leave. He is young, impulsive. I have genuine faith he will return to me. I hope one day soon he will come so I can teach him again."

"I wish that too. He had so much promise." I looked up at Wu. His face was young only five months ago. But now his eyes held an acute sadness, his face began forming lines along his eyes. His blonde hair was becoming grey. He had also fallen out of the habit of shaving and messy stubble had appeared. It was never easy seeing him that way. I wanted him to be the old Wu I knew. But I feared at that moment, that he would never return to us. Like Morro, he was gone. "Come, eat. I'm sure you're hungry."  
I nodded, following him. He glanced back at me. "You're soaked." He stopped and looked at what I was wearing. "Wait here, I don't want you to get sick. " And before I could refuse, he was gone getting me something warm to wear. He reappeared a few minutes later, holding a simple black kimono. "It will do," He sighed looking at it. I knew whose it was.

I took it and rushed off to the adjacent room to change. Once I had, I peeled the wet blanket off my son. He began crying again. "Wait, son, wait." I sighed wishing I knew what I was doing. "Be patient, Konomi." I wrapped him in the loose fabric of the kimono and tucked him against my chest not needing to hold onto him. He stopped crying now that he was warm. I sighed, satisfied.

I walked back into the tiny kitchen and dining room. "I don't have much," Wu said. "But I have enough. Fried rice?" He asked holding the food out to me.

It was impossible to refuse. I was so hungry. Once I had gotten my fill, Wu ushered me to a room that once belonged to his brother. It still had his bed, everything that Garmadon had decided was unimportant remained. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"I'm sure he will. He wants the Golden Weapons. He'll come one day."

I put an arm over my son and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Wu. I thank you so much. I can never repay you."

"I don't need you to repay me. Raise your son." With that, he left.

I was finally free to be with my son. Carefully, I took him out of the carrier I fashioned from the fabric of my kimono. I held his body with one hand, his head with the other. He was barely three days old. His eyes opened reluctantly. His eyes were still blue. Soon they would become black or brown. I wanted them to be black, because if he had brown eyes he would be the exact same as his father. I could already see that he would have his father's face, hair and he already had his smile. He stared at me and yawned. "Oh, I have such a beautiful baby." I said finally allowing him to eat. I began tearing up. And before I knew it, I began silently sobbing, a talent I had mastered. I breathed heavily. I was so tired and I just wanted to sleep, but my boy needed me. He was the only good thing I had now. "I love you, Konomi. I will protect you. Even if your father didn't want you, I do." I barely remember what I did after that. Because finally, Konomi was full and I could sleep. Lucky for me, my sleep was dreamless and restful.


	2. Cole

**Six Years Later...**

The morning was was calm and warm when he first arrived. The sky was almost completely cloudless, which was an uncommon occurrence in Heian. Usually the days were filled with rain, clouds, sometimes hail. The day was more than perfect. And since it was warm, I was outside tending my small field. The field wasn't particularly supportive, but if I worked hard enough, it offered enough. It gave me all of the plants I used to heal, and gave Wu and I most of what we ate. It took a lot of work to have it produce enough for us, but I have help other than me. I may or may not force my son to help.

I heard some yelling from behind me, my mother. I looked at her with mixed feelings of gladness and hatred. I never knew how she felt about me... "Where is your husband?" Though I have told her otherwise at least three point four billion times, she still thinks Wu and I are married and that Konomi is our son... Even though I was **obviously** pregnant at least four months before my husband left.

"Wu and I aren't married." I muttered before turning back to my work. "Why, what do you want?"

"There is a lost _creature_ looking for him."

'Creature' is a racial slur that refers to black men and women. Unfortunately, a lot of the people I live with are stupid and actually think that those who have dark skin are cursed. They think that it came about after Garmadon was banished to the Underworld, when his skin was turned pitch black. But I have heard enough about people from Wu. Lately, he has been traveling quite a bit. The stories he has told me about the people of Ninjago as a whole are incredible. But most of the people here have never left the village. Including myself. "Creature? Ohnai, they are human." I say to her. I am not allowed to call her _mother_ anymore.

She said nothing to me for a while. "Will you go find it? I refuse to associate with it." I couldn't begin to describe how angry it made me to hear her refer to a human as 'it'. I almost said no, but the last thing I wanted was for that person to be left in the incapable hands of my mother. So I agreed to go and find the person. If i didn't try to find him, the rest of the village would. We are fairly primal and a little more than superstitious. We let our fear get the best of us. We only kept people who were like us near. And if I didn't get to him soon, he would likely be killed.

Like I said, superstitious.

He wasn't hard to track down. It's pretty hard to miss a crowd gathered around a single man. And compared to the usual variety of the color of skin here, there was a massive shock. We -literally everyone in Jamanekai- we're paper white. This man? He was the color of the ground beneath my feet. What better way to scare the living daylight out of my paranoid community? He was the first black person I had ever seen in my life. And he stood out badly. It was plain to see he was beginning to get frightened. That was valid. He had no idea just how savage the people of my home town could be. He just wanted to get where he was going. And I wanted that too. Wu was one of few people who could communicate through other languages. And since this man didn't speak the same language as us we came to a stand still. We had nothing to go off of, and that only flustered the surrounding people more. Slowly, I edged through the dense crowd surrounding me. I could hear people mutter "What's a creature doing here?" and other things like "We are all in danger." And even though I think of myself as a rather forward individual, he scared me too. All of the stories I had heard growing up were rushing back to me. Not only were black people were not only thought to be cursed because of Garmadon, there was just a general stigma around darkness of all kinds. That included complexion. And count on no one else to capitalize on that fear than the colonists that drove the 'hate stake' deeper into our hearts.

I could see the man was getting frustrated quickly. I pushed harder to get to him. He kept saying the weirdest of things. I didn't understand a word he spoke. All I knew he was saying was 'Wu'. It was the only thing I understood at all. So I walked forward to him. He put his guard up immediately. He knew what the people around him were thinking. "Wu?" I tried.

His eyes widened and he nodded. He spoke a string of words I didn't know. "Wu," I said flagging for him to follow. He did so reluctantly, but he still went with me. I lead him to the steps of the monastery. He stopped me and tried to speak to me again. I didn't know what he was saying. He tried, and tried and tried. He was certainly persistent, but it appeared he didn't know when enough was enough. "Wu," I said waving my hand, beckoning him to keep going. With more reluctance than before, he followed. We were about half way up the mountain before he started complaining. You don't need to speak the same language to know someone's complaining. If I had to take a guess at what he was saying, I think it'd be something like "How much further is it?" or "Can we rest, my feet hurt!" But I dealt with it and just kept going. If he needed to see Wu so badly, he'd have to deal with aching feet.

When we finally reached the top, I pushed open the massive doors and out came Konomi to greet me. No doubt he just finished his schooling. Wu taught him basic math, reading and some other things. He taught him all about his brother, and his father. He told him the stories of the Stone Wars and even taught him about Morro and the Time Twins. He'd be an educated kid as far as history goes. I wasn't sure if Wu had taught him about the Serpentine yet. I hoped that he got to that part soon because if any annoying little brat was going to open the tombs, it would surely be my kid. "Mom!" Konomi yelled running circles around me. "Wu just taught me about-" He stopped short seeing our guest. "Wow..." He said breathlessly.

"Konomi, don't stare!" I snapped, smacking his shoulder.

"Yes mom." He said. But he still went up and tried to talk to him. "I'm Konomi." He said. When the stranger looked at Konomi like he was nuts, he looked at me. "Mom, why isn't he answering?"

"He doesn't speak the same language as us."

"Do you think he speaks English?" Konomi asked.

"Maybe, you can try if you like." And with that, Konomi said something in English. Hurra for bilingual teachers.

To my astonishment, the stranger answered. So he spoke English! Well looks like he and I will never speak. The stranger even knelt so that Konomi could talk to him a little easier. I also noticed that our guest was fond of children, well Konomi at least. He smiled a lot and laughed and spoke back. I couldn't really describe his voice. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't squeaky. It certainly didn't fall into the high pitch range. It was a fair medium. Even though I couldn't understand him, I found myself in love with his voice. "His name is Cole!" Konomi said, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Cole?" I tried to say his name to no avail.

"No!" Konomi said. " _Cole_." He said it slower.

I suppose 'Cole' should have been an easy name to say, but English was very much unlike Karahn. Our words were sharp and quick, with a lot of 'i's and 'e's. And the 'e' could make like 12 different sounds. So in my defense, I didn't speak English. "Cole?" I looked at Konomi who nodded excitedly in approval. "Tell him I say it's nice to meet him." And he did.

"He said it's nice to meet you too!" Konomi said. "He also asked if Wu lives here. I told him 'yes.'''

I nodded approvingly. "Good boy," I said. "Tell him to follow me inside. I know where Wu's at."


	3. Jay

"Sensei, who is this person? I'm confused as to why he's here. Do me a favor, explain."

"He is a special man." Wu said.

"I swear if you're trying to set me up again-"

"No, not this time." Wu says, cutting me off, a half smile on his face. "He is Elemental."

"No!"

"Yes," Wu says with a slow nod. "I believe truly that he is the descendant of the Master of Earth."

"Wow..." I say, looking back to him.

At that, Cole says something I can't understand. And even though I am clueless as to what he's saying, Wu responds effortlessly without missing a single beat. He is so on track. I wish I was bilingual like him. I have to patiently sit and watch as Wu speaks with the man. I wait until the two are finished speaking until I butt in. "Um, Wu, who is he? I know he's Elemental, but where's he from? Why's he here?"

"I'm sorry for not informing you, Kiyuo. This is Cole Blacksmith," The man tenses upon hearing his name. "as you know, I am near certain he is the Elemental Inheriter of Earth. He is from Sanar, a country to the west. He, believe it or not, was mountain climbing when I found him. Challenged him, won and here he is. He's here because I think Garmadon's planning an escape."

"Excuse me!" I start hard. "Garmadon can't come back, he's in the Underworld! He can't-"

"He can, and I know he will eventually." Wu said gravely. "And soon."

"You said that mortals can't cross over! Did you lie to me or-"

"No. Garmado and I, we're different than other people. We are direct descendants of the First Spinjistzu Master. At birth we were bestowed with special privileges. We are the only people that have them."

I pause, look to the ground, and take in what Wu says. "You have always told me he can't come back. Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't want to trouble you. When you came to me, you were troubled enough. You were weak, you were tired. I couldn't bother you more. But you know now, and that is what is important. Please, I beg that you're not mad at me."

"I'm not, I'm just surprised." I glance at the stranger, and his face filled with a strange concoction of worry, confusion and determination. He's trying to figure out what we're saying! Before I can reprimand him and tell him to go away, Wu begins speaking. Again I am unable to understand him. In the middle of their conversation I butt in again. "Wu, you said he will be staying here to train, right?"

"Yes." He says.

"How do you expect me to communicate with him? I can't speak English! If he's hurt, I won't know how to fix him!"

"Yes, I suppose I hadn't thought of that." He paused for a moment. "I guess you'll have to learn English."

"But that could take years!"

"Better late than never. And besides, you're so anxious to speak with him, to be able to communicate. You should be excited. And for an English speaker, Kanahn is the hardest to learn. It would take him longer to learn your language than it would for you to learn his."

I sigh, unwilling to fight anymore. "Yes, Sensei."

Wu explains what I said to Cole and then turns back to me. "Prepare yourself," Wu says. "English is a very hard language to learn. You will have to focus."

"Yes Sensei, I will be ready." I say.

* * *

So over the course of about six months, I got accustomed to Cole's presence. He seemed nice enough. At that point I still hadn't had a conversation with him. Heck, I hadn't even introduced myself properly. Wu hadn't yet taught me how to introduce myself in English. What I knew was: please, thank you, some colors, numbers and how to say stop and wait. But other than that, I couldn't understand a word of English. But Wu had told me to listen carefully to conversations he had with Konomi and Cole. Sometimes I would pick up a new word and add it to my journal.

"Okay, so now I'm going to teach you introductions. You think you can handle it?" Wu asked one day.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Tell me, what do you think this means?" And he spoke a sentence in English. "Take a guess."

"You said 'hello', I know that much." I said, thinking. "Did you say 'hello, my name is Wu?"'

"Very good. Now, try repeating it back to me." And I did. With poor results. "Your accent is going to need work. You said it correctly, but as an English speaker, I could hardly understand you."

And so I met my first real issue. My accent. If I didn't work on the pronunciation of the English alphabet, I wouldn't be able to communicate no matter how many words I knew. So I had to work even harder to rid myself of my awful accent. What felt like a century passed before I was half understandable. By the time Cole had been with us for seven months, I knew enough English to have a very short conversation with him. Colors and numbers don't really make for fun conversation.

But I had other ways of communication. I had Konomi who had taken an unnaturally quick liking to Cole. Wu also helped me. They were true life savers. If I didn't have them, it would have been near impossible to say anything to Cole. Even with Konomi and Wu, things were a struggle at best. I mostly relied on them to help me voice my opinions. I could certainly try to speak to Cole on my own, and I did occasionally. But that was only for testing. I hardly tried at conversion without Konomi or Wu.

And before I could even get used to the presence of one stranger, I was forced to meet a new one. He, unlike Cole, arrived on a rainy day in the middle of summer. He was easily excited and very playful. He seemed to like trying new things. When Wu brought him in, I was speechless. I wasn't startled like I had been with Cole. I was certainly surprised, but not startled. This boy was beautiful. It is a little embarrassing to admit, but it is truth! He had features I had never seen before. His hair was a soft, yet striking red and his eyes were a brilliant shade of hazel. His skin was like ivory, even paler than mine. But unlike mine, his was scattered with freckles. It was the weirdest sort of beautiful I had ever witnessed. And when Wu brought him to the Monastery, I once again stopped short. I felt my face heat up a little and I knew immediately that introductions would be difficult. "Kiyuo," I started when Wu addressed me.

"Yes, Sensei?" I got up from the table and drew my attention from Cole's artwork to Wu and the new kid.

"This is the next piece of our solution." Wu said. "This is the Master of Lightning."

Well that was a surprise. As far as I knew, the former Master of Lightning had died without children. Maybe she had, and this person had a different element. Or perhaps Wu was wrong and he actually had her element. "Lightning?" I asked. "I thought lightning was a dead element."

"And I as well." Wu admitted. "But I have reason to think that he is an Elemental Master of Lightning."

I nodded. I looked at the man, smiled and held my hand out to him, like Cole told me I should. I silently prayed that what I was about to say was right. "I-I am Kiyuo." I stopped short catching a glimpse of his stunning eyes. "I'm happy to be meeting you." I glanced at Wu who nodded in approval.

The man firmly took my hand and shook it. "Name's Jay." He said with a smile. Oh his smile... "Nice to meet you, _Kiyoo."_ I couldn't keep myself from smiling when he said my name wrong.

"Kiyuo. Like um..." I had to stop and think. "Like the 'key', and 'oh'."

"I'll be sure..." And after that I couldn't understand him anymore.

But I didn't need to hear the words he spoke. He had emphatic gestures that I could easily understand. He was just that kind of person. He was easily understandable. Fortunately for Jay and Cole, they spoke the same language.

I was glad to have such a man as Jay with us. Where Cole was steady, patient and quiet, Jay was ready for anything and tried everything. He had a beautiful laugh and he was quite witty. Jay and Cole canceled each other out. Sure, from that day on, the Monastery was a bit less peaceful, but the upside was that there was more energy. I was grateful for it.


	4. Bitterness

I grumbled as I brushed my hair out. Dawn had not yet arrived, but I was awake. My chores demanded that I rise early. I looked out the window into the Monastery courtyard. Everything was still. It would be at least another hour before anything scurried across the courtyard. As it was, it was too cold for anything, even an ice mouse, to be outside. Everything had yet to wake. Last night, just after I put Konomi to bed, Wu bought another person back. He looked the most like the other people who lived here, aside from the blue eyes and blonde hair. He was very tall, taller than Cole was by about three inches. I believe he called himself Zane. His eyes held a profound mystery, as if there was something inside him that he didn't even know about himself. He was an eerie kind of lovely. I don't know how to properly describe him. Already I knew he was strange, maybe even wrong, like the kids born to mothers who had gotten sick during their pregnancies. Wu tells me not to call them wrong children, but I don't know what else to say. Wrong is much more merciful than the word we call them in Kahnan. The people around me refer to them as 'benrui'. There is no English equal, and I don't want to try and describe it.

Sensei Wu told me that he thought that Zane was the elemental Master of Ice. From what I had observed so far, the Element suited him well. He looked like the embodiment of a gentle winter. His eyes were the color of ice, and his hair was nearly white. I wasn't sure if the color was natural, it didn't look like it was. He also had very pale skin, almost more than mine, but not quite. Perhaps it was out of shyness, but he seemed very solemn last night. He hardly spoke a word to anyone, not even Jay could get him to speak. I did notice though that when I spoke Kahnan, he seemed to listen intently, like he knew what I was saying. He always seemed on the verge of speaking, but didn't speak a word last night. He was completely and utterly silent. However, in his silence, one could easily hear what he had to say. His face was expressive if you paid attention.

After I had done up my hair in a way to keep it out of my face, I lit a match for my lantern. Once lit, I walked as silently as I could to the room Wu had converted to a makeshift hospital room for me. I kept all of my supplies there. It was the smallest room in the Monastery, but it was enough. Cole had helped me put up more shelves to fit more supplies. I walked around the room, lighting candles as I went. Even though the rest of the world lived in one of comfort, technology, electricity, we did not. Here in Heian, were primitive; we lacked what others saw as common. Most of Heian lacked things like electricity, running water and heat. We survived through will power, and for some, by doing some nasty, horrendous things…. At one time, so Wu tells me, Garmadon was a commanding presence here, before he was cursed at least. Most of the town in those days loved and respected him and he did the same. But then he went off to train under Chen, and everything went sour. It was actually around the time that Garmadon was cursed that Heian's downfall began. Not all of Heian is bad though. Wu was born here, and he's overseen the downfall of this country for longer than I have been alive. He's not a bad man, the entire village respects him, except for my mother of course. If it has anything to do with me, she does not like it. Then there's my father. He was the best blacksmith anyone in the village had ever seen. He was also a less than talented apothecary. Everyone wanted to see him, not because of his talent, but because of his gentle and warm demeanor. There wasn't a human alive that my father couldn't calm down. I got all of my good qualities from him

When I had lit all of the candles that had been mounted on the walls, I got to work. Harvest started yesterday, and that meant I had to do much more. Right now, I was working on drying and preserving some of my herbs so that I would not run out in the winter and early spring. I wasn't even done harvesting quite yet, some of what I was growing still needed time. Even in here I was growing herbs and other plants. I had an aloe vera plant that Wu had brought back for me from a past trip, a personal rosemary plant and a tiny cactus that would give fruit in early spring. I had more of course, but I honestly don't think I have time to list them all, and besides that would be very tedious on your part. Trust me, you don't want to know.

I knew for certain that I was running low on tomaka oil. I couldn't do much about that, the flowers I was growing hadn't bloomed yet. They bloom right before the first snowfall. I still had a good while to go. I didn't know how I'd make it last, I used it as a base for almost everything. Tomaka oil wasn't used for preserving like alcohol, instead, it is used to extract the medicinal properties from dried plants. So it's serious when I run low on them.

Just as I had prepared myself to work, I heard soft, quick footfalls, and turned to see who it was. In the doorway, Konomi was peering just past the doorway. His big brown eyes watching me closely. "Mama," He whispered quickly.

"Yeah, Koi?" I say just as quietly. "What do you need?"

"I'm hungry!" He said. "I want breakfast!"

"Can you wait?" I asked. "Mom's a bit-"

" _Please_?" Konomi begged. "I'm hungry!"

I sigh. Konomi was so much like his father. Just as insistent, and relentless. "Okay, Koi, come on." I say reaching for his hand. Even though he was six, and constantly proclaimed that he was, in fact, a 'big boy', he still liked to hold my hand. I certainly wasn't complaining. I wanted my only son to want to be close to me forever. Konomi was my driving force, my reason for living.

We quietly crept into the kitchen and I began making Konomi, my little Koi, some breakfast. Ever since Cole got here, Wu and I had stopped eating traditional Heianian foods, and switched over to things that he, and Jay prefered. But today was my turn to cook. I would make something traditional weather they liked it or not!

But we had no food.

When did I forget to go get food? When did I forget to trade? I quickly went back in my room and checked how much money I had.

I had none.

Usually, I had money socked away from the poorer people who would come to me for healing. My mother is an apothecary, but she doesn't like people. She's an apothecary because her mother and father were, and they forced her. It's obvious that she hates her job. But she and I are the only two left. People would rather go to a heartless beast than a family disgrace. People would only come to me if they had no other choice and really didn't want to die. I was alright with that. Money is money, and I have a son to provide for. I sigh dejectedly and look at Konomi. "Breakfast is going to have to wait, Koi."

He whined, throwing his head back. "Why?" He said in a growlish sort of tone.

"Because we don't have any food. I'm going to have to go get some today. Tell you what, Koi," I said. "Go outside and see if Kocha and Misi have laid any eggs. If you get back inside before anyone else wakes up, whatever eggs they laid you can have." Konomi ran out the door so fast, I don't think I've ever seen him move that quickly.

He came back in excitedly, holding three large chicken eggs in his hand. "Misi laid three today!" Just then, the door to my left slid open and Cole stepped through it. Konomi groaned. "Do I have to share?"

"Not this time. I told you that if you got back in before anyone else came out, you'd get all the eggs. Cole came out after you got back."

"Yes!"

I don't know where Konomi got his desire for food. He'd never once gone to bed hungry except for the night I first brought him here. But regardless of that, Konomi was always careful with his food, sometimes he would preserve it. He never did it quite right, but he always got close. Though I am also at a loss as to where he learned to preserve food, I mean honestly, he's six years old. I know for a fact no one in the village would have taught him, children of a disgrace are just as bad as the disgrace itself. But he does it anyway, and proves to everyone that he is a weird little kid. This place doesn't like weird. My entire family, by that I mean my husband, son and myself, have always been looked down upon. I could have prevented all of that. I could have lived a beautiful life with a man my father chose for me, a life of peace, one where I wouldn't worry where my next meal would come from, or when… But nope, I eloped with a rehomed street urchin. I've wondered for a while if Konomi might have gotten his desire to keep food safe from his father. He was always preserving things like potatoes, carrots, peppers and meat. He was always scared of going hungry. But I still don't know where **Konomi** would have learned to do it, his father was gone long before he was born.

So I cooked Konomi's breakfast and the moment I was done, the eggs were gone. Konomi seemed to be hungry all the time. Even after we had just had a large meal, he'd ask for something to eat. The weird thing is he never seemed to gain weight. Ever. But that was okay. He never really lost weight either, so I didn't mind.

"So what was that about?" Cole asked, stretching.

"Hm? Oh… Konomi was hungry. I say if he goes to get Misi ci- I mean and Kocha's eggs, he gets them."

Even though my English was still horrendous, Cole picked up enough to understand. "Anything left?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No food," I sighed.

Cole sighed back. Like Konomi, I knew Cole loved food. Though unlike Konomi, Cole ate in excess. Observing him, I could tell it was from nervousness or stress. He didn't eat all the time, but when he was upset, he ate like there was no tomorrow. But he worked so hard, he rarely gained weight, so I never worried about him getting sick. "So when are we going to go get more?"

"No we." I said. "Too dangerous for you to go, you stay." I said. "When Wu is up, I go."

"Why's it too dangerous?"

"Village no like you. They might hurt you." I said, trying to piece together a sentence.

"I'm strong though. I can take 'em." He said patting his flexed arm.

I shook my head, smiling. "Won't let you." I said. "Stay here."

"Fine." He said with a playful sigh. "Guess I'll just have to throw Jay around today during training."

"I'd rather you _not_ throw Jay around during training." Jay said walking out to greet us. "So what's for breakfast today?"

"Air." Cole said. "We're out of food."

"How did we run out of food?"

"Forgot to buy some." I said raising my hand. "I go to buy some when Wu is up."

Jay just shrugged. "Hey, Cole." Jay started.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking all night about how we can prank Zane to wake him up. Wanna join?" He said maniacally rubbing his hands together.

"No," I said. "No jokes. Leave Zane be."

"Aw, Kiyuo! Please?"

"No." I said simply. "Make Zane feel welcome. He is…." For a moment I forgot the plural English word for you. "Your! Your, brother."

Jay and Cole exchanged amused glances as I struggled for words. Jay said something quietly to Cole, covering his mouth so I couldn't see what he said. Cole broke out in a cackle that scared the life out of me. "What did he say?" I ask.

Cole shook his head and waved his hand, like that would blow the comment away. "Just something stupid." He said shooting Jay a playful stare.

For a while, we continue to talk. We shared jokes, talked about their training and about what might happen next. Wu told me that Zane was the final apprentice he would take on, which relieved me. After a while, I left Jay and Cole to talk and. went about my chores and responsibilities. I cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the floor. Jay and Cole had been in the kitchen for less than 10 minutes and yet, it was a mess. I swept the floors around the rest of the monastery and I cleaned up the room that Konomi and I shared. When Wu finally woke up, I jumped at the chance to go get food. "We ran out?"

"Yes, we did." I said. "I don't know how I let it happen, I guess I've just been so busy, and I-"

"Slow down, Kiyuo." Wu said. "You are busy, and our guests are pigs to say the least." He said. "Calm down, it's okay. You've been providing for us for a good while, but now that no one is willing to come to you, you can't. Don't worry. You know I have a small, but steady income. It should be enough for now."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Wu said reassuringly. "Take this, go get some more." He said dropping coins into my hand.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and went. I went back to the room that Konomi and I shared, I grabbed my satchel and my coat. Winter was approaching, and I began wondering how we'd make it on Wu's meager income. People tended to get injured during Heian's long, brutal winters, perhaps I would begin gaining back what I had lost.

As I gathered my things, Konomi came running into the room. "You're going to town?" He asked, his voice excited.

I rarely let Konomi venture into Jamanekai Village. The people there treated him like he was Okar spawn. Okar is the patron of the disgraced, the evil, his wife the patron of murderers and thieves. Our home does not take kindly to those who fall under their rule. Because of this, I rarely let my son come with me. "Yes, I am."

"Can I go this time?" He begged, running to the edge of the bed. "I wanna go! I wanna go! I saved up money by selling fish!"

"You've been selling fish? Where are you getting _fish_?"

"Cole and I have been going fishing!" Of course. Cole and Konomi had grown very close since his arrival. "It's almost Omso! I want to buy an offering for my dad!"

I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it again. "Konomi, you never even knew your father."

"But he's an ancestor!"

"I don't even know if he's dead. For all I know he's out there living a happy life with a new wife and a new son."

"You don't want me to offer?"

"Yes, I want you to offer! Are you insane?" I said rustling his hair. "Offer to your grandfather instead. There are two things about him that are absolutely true. One, he lived a great life, was a good man and took care of all those who came to him. Secondly, he's dead." The last part made Konomi chuckle. "You're only supposed to offer to Rikani and family who have passed."

Konomi nodded. He was young. In time he'd learn to celebrate properly… It was about time I taught him. "Koi, you know how dangerous the village is for you." I said.

"I know," He sighed.

I looked at him, and felt terrible for making him stay. I glanced around. "What would you say if I had Cole go with us?" I said looking down at him. I knew exactly how dangerous it was for Cole to accompany us. I would look like a fool asking him if he wanted to go so quickly after I told him he had to stay.

"AH! Really? Cole too! This is going to be-" I assume he said "amazing" or "great" but he ran out of the room so quickly that I didn't hear the end of his sentence. In about 0.5 he was back, dragging Cole behind him.

"What's happening? He was talking so quickly I couldn't catch everything." Cole said quickly.

"Told Koi if you go to town, he can go too." Cole nodded in understanding. "Want to go with us?" I asked. "You don't have to."

"But I thought it was too dangerous for someone like me to go into town!" He bent over me -he was so freaking tall- jokingly mocking me.

"I know," I sighed. "I know what I said. But he," I said nodding toward Konomi. "Wants to go. You can protect us."

Cole looked at my son and grinned. He loved Konomi. One day, he'd make an excellent father. "Sure!" He said. "I'll go, if you think it's going to help."

"It will!" Konomi said brightly.

"You just want to go get candy." Cole smiled and tousled his hair. Konomi tried swatting his hand away. Cole chuckled. "But I have better intentions. I get out of training!" He cheered. I giggled. "When do we go?"

"Now." I said. "Coat, shoes. Hurry." I said calmly.

The two nodded, and Konomi took off running. Cole walked out of the room whistling, his hands on his head. I walked behind him a ways and collected my thoughts. Going to the village put my life, Cole's life and Konomi's life in danger. I don't know how the people will react. They never do the same thing twice. They're unruly and unpredictable. I had warned Konomi countless times of the danger. He knew, but didn't care. I slipped on my shoes and coat as I walked out the door. Jay saw us leaving. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Into town." Cole said simply.

"Really? Can I go?"

"No!" We heard Sensei Wu cry from across the courtyard.

"Why not?" Jay yelled back. "Cole gets to go!"

"Cole," Wu said poking his head out of the door on the opposite side of the monastery "Is double your size and triple your strength. He is going to protect Kiyuo." He then noticed Konomi. "Are you taking him too?"

"Yes." I said. "I think Cole will be able to take care of us both!" I said quickly in Kahnan.

"Don't worry, Sensei! I'm tough!" Cole said flexing his arms. I looked at Konomi, who was laughing.

Zane peered out of one of the sliding doors, his face blank. Even through the blankness, his eyes shimmered. "Be safe!" He called. It took me a moment to realize that he'd spoken in Kahnan.

"Thank you! Train hard, Zane!"

A minute smile appeared on his face as he nodded. Then we all turned to leave and made the tedious journey to the village. We talked and laughed on our way down, sharing jokes and stories. When we reached the bottom of the mountain, I turned sharply to the left, as that was where my garden plot was. It certainly wasn't the most fertile, or the biggest producer of food, but like I said, if I worked hard, it provided what we needed. I made the short trip from the main path to the field, Konomi and Cole in tow. When I reached the field, I was horrified by what I saw.

The little field had been destroyed. Bits of fruit and leaves lay scattered across the dirt. That was going to provide me my winter store. Everything was gone. "What happened?" Konomi murmured.

"Someone's ruined it…" I said.

"Surprised?" I heard someone call from behind me.

I turned to see one of the most detestable humans on the face of the planet. "What did you do, Kai?" I snapped, trying to keep my anger at bay.

The smug look on his face told me just how much joy he took in seeing my anger. "Not surprised to see you and your kiami of a son down here groveling in the dust."

"I'm not a-"

"Konomi, shush!" I said pulling him behind me. "He is not a kiami. My son is-"

"The son of a deserter, an iama."

"You don't know anything about him!"

"I know enough," He said, running his hand through his dark brown hair. "That beast of an urchin couldn't do anything for you and up and left when he realized that."

"He loved me! That's more than I can say about you! Your own parents hated you so much that they up and abandoned you and your sister!"

Kai's lip curled in a snarl. "They didn't abandon us!"

"I know they did!" I snapped

Kai's face darkened into a scowl. He began rushing towards me. "You son of a b-"

"Okay! Enough!" After a few moments of sitting idly by, Cole leaped in and shielded me behind him.

"Get out of the way, you ugly thing! It's no surprise that a gross creature like you would be protecting something as useless as her! Evil has to stick together!" Kai waved his hands rapidly. He hadn't stopped to think if Cole could even understand him. Cole glanced back at me, giving a questioning look.

"Insulting you." I said gesturing toward Kai.

Cole looked back at Kai. He should have intimidated, but he just kept yelling. "That's enough!" Cole roared, finally starting to get angry. Kai flinched, but quickly regained his composure. He began walking toward Cole, but Cole firmly pushed him back.

Kai recoiled at his touch. He certainly wasn't scared of getting every last wisp of breath beaten from his lungs; he almost looked as though he was afraid that the color of Cole's skin was contagious. "Don't touch me, beast!"

I weaved around Cole and pushed him back. "He is not a beast! Do not insult him! He," I said motioning to Cole. Cole attempted to grab my wrist and pull me back, but Cole was never a quick person. "Is more of a man than you could ever be! All you'll be is the the son of a dead traitor!"

 _Smack!_

I didn't even see him swing. I didn't even see Kai move, but I know it was him that hit me. "You don't know anything about my father. I don't even know anything about my father!" He spat. "I have his legacy, and I will carry it. And you? What about you? You could have been something great, just like your mother-"

"If my mother is what this place considers great, than I want no part of it!" I looked Kai up and down. "I could be worse. At least I know my father loved me!"

 _Smack!_

Man, I wasn't making this easy on myself. "Kiyuo stop!" Cole finally got a hold on my wrist. "We need to leave!"

"Fine." I said surrendering. With that, I let Cole step in front of me. He gave Kai a look of ice and fire together. For only a moment, there was fear in his eyes. Even so, he did not back down. I grabbed my son and pushed him along in front of me.

Once we were out of earshot and back on the path into town, the first words Konomi uttered were: "Kai's a bitch, mom!" In English no less!

"Konomi!" I snapped. Cole tried not to laugh, his lips struggling to keep from smiling.

"He is not wrong," Cole said after a few long moments, finally allowing himself to laugh.

To be completely honest, I didn't even know exactly what that meant, but I knew it was an insult and a vulgar one at that. I caught Cole try to give Konomi a low five without me noticing. I decided not to say anything.

So where was Nya in all of this? Had she helped Kai destroy that plot, or was it just him She was Kai's younger sister. She had a mindset similar to Kai's but she was not as cruel. Sure, she'd been one root of my misery, but Kai was far, far worse. Just as I was about to slip into deep thought, Cole spoke. "So what do we have to get first?"

"Greens," I said quietly. My cheek began to ache.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, this is normal."

"This is normal?" Cole stopped short for a moment.

I nodded. "Time I came into town before this, I got punched, not smacked."

Cole was visibly upset. He looked like he might sucker punch the next person that walked past him. "Back home, women are not treated like this."

"Not just me," I said. "Many, many people." I breathed.

We were nearing the village. I began hardening myself. I told myself to remain expressionless, calm and quiet. I took Konomi's hand.

When we passed into the village, we were immediately met with stares, scowls and faces of awe. People -men in particular- began approaching us and mocked us. They followed us, taunted us, a few spat on us. "I'm going to kill someone," Cole growled quietly.

"Just keep walking, this always happens."

Just as we were about to cross into the marketplace, someone snatched Konomi and threw him to the ground. One man held him firmly, another began picking up large stones and prepared to throw them at Konomi. Hysterically, my son began screaming, and begged them to let him go. The man had time to throw only two stones before Cole had thrown the two men across the walkway. Fast as lightning, the two men were replaced and launched themselves at Cole, landing punches on him. One grabbed him, but Cole pushed him back and sent him tumbling. Fast as he could, Cole picked Konomi up and held him tight. We took off running, my son sobbing in his arms.

* * *

" _Come on, Kiyuo!" My father called. "We have to go to market and find some things for mom!"_

 _I looked up from my game with my only friend, Isara. "But dad! I was about to win!"_

" _There might be a treat involved if you go!" I looked back at Isara._

" _Share, okay!" She giggled._

 _I got up and scurried to my father's side. Even though I was 12, I still wanted to hold onto my father. "I will!" And with that, we turned to leave._

 _The walk to the marketplace was a short one. We had lived close to it for my entire life, and my father and I went and walked around it almost daily. "What were you and Isara giggling about back there?"_

" _Her mom's having another baby," I said._

" _That's funny to you two?" He smiled, raising one eyebrow._

" _We were talking about getting married."_

" _Ah," My father chuckled. This hadn't been the first time I'd mentioned this to him. I never talked about 'girly' things with mom, only my father. "Silly girl, that's a ways off yet."_

" _I know, but I really want it!" I said squeezing his hand tighter._

" _Every girl does until they have it."_

" _Even mom?"_

" _Especially her!" With that, we laughed. My father hadn't ever really deeply loved my mother, but he did love me, and we were inseparable._

 _When we walked into the market, we had to squeeze past other people. Something was going on. We could hear shouting at the front of the throng, but I knew dad didn't want to go that way. He began pulling me in a different direction._

 _But I wanted to see._

 _I let go of his hand, and slipped backwards into the the crowd. "Kiyuo?" My father turned immediately, and for only a second our eyes locked before I slinked off to my left._

 _My father tried to catch up to me, but I was smaller and quicker. I was at the front in no time. I couldn't see past the people in front of me, so I had to squat down and look between their legs. I watched as a boy my age knelt before a guard who was armed with a whip. The guard was announcing his crime to the crowd. This was typical, Jamanekai always watched whippings and executions. Any form of public punishment was watched. This boy in particular had attempted to steal something -the guard hadn't mentioned what- and was going to be whipped fifteen times for it. I examined him closely. His shirt had been torn off and his wrists were bound behind his back. His ribes showed, he obviously hadn't been properly eating. His face was hidden by his shoulder length hair._

 _The punishment ensued. The cracking of a whip merged with the bitter howls that escaped the boy's lungs. It ended faster than I thought it would. As the crowd began to wane, an man -perhaps the boy's father- walked up to him and stood him up. The boy could barely stand, his face was pale, even more so than snow. His brown eyes were hysteric and scared. I then realized something. He would be coming to my home soon for treatment. I would be healing this boy._

 _I sprinted home as fast as I could, darting past my father in the process. I got home before he did. "Mom! Mom! Someone got whipped!" I cried running through the door of our house, completely ignoring Isara in the yard._

" _What?"_

" _Someone got whipped! We have to get ready for him!"_

 _She sighed. She'd always hated her job, and by this time, I was doing a lot of it. This was something she'd leave for me to heal. She'd watch of course, but if she didn't have to intervene, she wouldn't. She walked past me, and got to work. We unfolded a table for our medicine, and unrolled a mat to lay the boy on. Only moments later, he was being carried through the door of our home. He was brought into our small room and laid face down on the mat. I washed my hands in a little bucket of water nearby and set out. His back was covered in irritated open wounds, blood flowed freely. I first removed all of the debris that made its way into the slices in his skin. Then I grabbed a small bucket from the table. I also grabbed a branch. "Bite down on this," I said calmly to the boy. "It's going to hurt, but it will pass quickly."_

 _The boy didn't say anything, only bit down on the branch. I took a brush and dipped into the oily green contents of the bucket. I then began spreading the liquid across the boy's back. He let out a sharp gasp and bit down hard on the stick. I continued until my mother stopped me. "You're not good enough at stitches to do this," She said and shooed me off._

 _About an hour later, my mother exited the room, carrying some bloodied supplies. I walked quietly over to the baskets in the back room and took out some of the leftover cooked rice from yesterday and took some soy sauce and a stale biscuit. I brought it all to him. I set it in front of him and sat against the wall. He looked up at me, his eyes resentful. "I don't want your charity." He snapped. "I can get food on my own."_

" _I know, I watched you get some earlier."_

" _Very funny!" He spat._

" _Please, just eat it. You're so skinny.:"_

 _His gaze changed from resentful to annoyed. Carefully, he raised his arms and pushed himself up onto his knees. He definitely shouldn't have been moving, and he knew it. Every time he moved too quickly, he'd inhale sharply or groan quietly. I held the bowl out to him. He snached the food from me faster than greased lightning and didn't even bother with the chopsticks. He ate with his hands. When it was gone, he was gasping for breath. In his haste to eat, he had forgotten to breathe. This spoke to me loudly. When was the last time he'd eaten? "You just going to stare at me all night?"_

" _I'm sorry," I said lowering my eyes. After a few long moments, I looked up again. "What's your name?"_

" _What's it to you?"_

" _Just curious." I said brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "My name is Kiyuo." I said._

 _The boy looked up at me, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Morro," he said._

* * *

We rushed home with food, a crying Konomi still in Cole's arms. After Cole snatched Konomi, we practically had to run into the market and grab what was closest to us and run. I didn't even realize we hadn't paid until we were halfway up the mountain. Every so often I would hear something and whip around, fearing that someone had finally come to kill me.

When we finally got home, I rushed to put everything away. When I finished, Cole and Konomi were gone. For once, the monastery was completely quiet. I walked quietly into my room and found Cole sitting against the wall on the bed, Konomi sitting in his lap with his eyes closed. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, and held out my arms for my son. Carefully, Cole passed him to me, and just as I had a hold on him, he opened his eyes -well, eye. One rock had hit him just below his eye, and it was starting to swell. The other hit him on his chest. I knew he'd be okay, the rocks hadn't cut him, he had no open wounds. "Do you see?" I choked out. "Why I didn't want you going? If Cole had not been with us, you would have-" I stopped, unable to even fathom it. "You would have died today if he had not been there."

"I won't go back," He promised. "I won't go back."

I pulled my son close and closed my eyes. "Thank you." I murmured. "I love you, you know that, don't you?"

He nodded, but didn't look at me. He closed his eyes again and fell asleep. After about twenty minutes, the monastery came back to life. Jay and Wu and Zane returned from wherever they had gone. I wanted to go and see them, but I couldn't yet. "Cole, are you okay?" I asked turning to him.

"Fine, fine." Said waving his hands. "Don't worry, they didn't hit me very hard." That was a blatant lie. His lip had been cut open and bruises littered his face and probably his shoulders too.

"You a terrible liar."

He shrugged. "My dad always told me the same thing."

"Come," I said. "We need to fix you up." Without waiting for a response, I walked to the back of the monastery and began fishing out what I had left to treat him.

With shaky hands, I examined his face, cleaning it as I went. "I'm so sorry." I said quietly.

"For what?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"This!" I said gesturing to all of him. "I shouldn't have asked you to go."

"You were doing what you thought was right." He said quietly. He flinched back when I applied an antibacterial to one of the cuts on his face.

"But I knew this could happen I-"

"If I hadn't gone, your son would be dead." He said. "So this," He said gesturing to his face. "Is a small price to pay for his life. I'm not mad, and I'm alive. Everything's fine."

"Everything's not fine! Look at you!"

Cole sighed and shook his head, his eyebrows raised high. "Believe it or not, this is not the first time this has happened."

"Really? You a fighter or something?"

Cole chuckled. "No, nothing like that. You see, before I came here, I was a college student. It was kinda wild. I mean, I was only there for two days, but I still saw a fair share of fights. This is mild compared to that."

"What were you studying?"

When I asked, he got tense. "Music."

"Really? You never seemed…." I didn't know what to say. "Musical, is that the word?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah." He then snapped out of his sadness. "Yeah, that's right."

"You okay?" I asked. "You're acting weird."

"Fine," He said brushing off the comment. "Music just brings back some really bad memories."

"That's unfortunate." I said.

"Yeah." he said. "But don't worry about it, it's not your problem."

"Okay." Even though I said I wouldn't worry, I definitely would be.

Thankfully, his lip wouldn't need stitches. He wouldn't need any at all. After he'd ben treated, I let him go. After he was gone, I went to see Jay, Zane and Wu. When I got there, Jay was smiling brightly, talking about being a hero. Wu looked on silently, Zane talking quietly beside him. After a moment, he saw me and walked over and greeted me warmly. "How was the trip?"

"Bad."

"They always are," He said quietly. "What did you bring home?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I have no idea?"

"Why wouldn't you know?"

"Well, I- well," I told him what happened when we went to Jamanekai Village.

"They tried to stone him?"

"Yes. If Cole hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened, I-I probably would have been killed too." I shook my head. "I can't even protect my own son… What kind of mother does that make me?"

"Kiyuo," Wu said, gently placing his hand on my shoulders, "You are an excellent mother. You tried to tell him how dangerous it was for him to go down there."

"But I let him go with me before, and they didn't try and kill him."

"I don't know why they decided to do it, Kiyuo, I don't." He said calmly. "But look," He said motioning to everyone. "You are safe, Konomi is safe. Everything is going to be okay."

I looked at everyone and knew that he was right. Jay sat beside Cole laughing while Zane sat listening intently. After a few minutes, Konomi waddled out of the hallway and went to sit by Cole. He smiled and laughed as if today hadn't happened. I knew then that I was safe.


	5. Chapter 5 Kai

The next morning, Wu woke me up early. Given yesterday's events, I just wanted to keep sleeping. "This is urgent, Kiyuo!" He said. At that, I obeyed and got up. "I'm sending the Ninja away."

" _ **What**_?" I gasped, suddenly alert.

"Don't worry. Not forever. I have found another-"

"You said Zane would be the last one!"

"Kiyuo, this is not something you should dictate. You are twenty-three, and know not of what is about to transpire. So please, let me continue."

"Yes, Sensei." I breathed.

"This next student will complete this team, I know it. He is the descendant of Fire."

"You mean-"

"Yes, Ray and Maya's son."

"No."

"Kiyuo-"

"I refuse to help Kai. I will do nothing for him! Sensei, please, reconsider!"

"Kiyuo, like I said, you are young and brash, you let your anger get the best of you. Do not allow yourself to become like Morro."

I shuddered at the mentioning of him. "Even Morro is more noble than Kai! You know what he's done to me! You know exactly what! And yet-"

"I am putting the good of Ninjago above you, Kiyuo. I will not allow your petty dissatisfaction keep me from protecting what my father gave to me."

"Wu this man is a monster! He is arrogant, rude, brash, selfish and malevolent! He is not meant to protect Ninjago!"

"And what do you know of destiny!"

"Only that it is cruel and unending."

"Right. This is one of the cruel moments. They will happen more throughout your life, I suggest you get used to them." Wu said firmly, almost angrily.

"I can't. Do you truly expect me to love and care for someone who has taunted me, spit on me, thrown rocks at me, destroyed my life and love, killed off what would have been our food for winter, jumped me and near killed me? I'm sorry, Wu. _I can't do it._ "

"In time you will learn that your anger -as justified as it is- is only holding you back. You must let go." He said, now calm. "You forgave me,"

"That was different, Wu."

"How? You know that your husband left because of me. And yet you are here with me?"

"You never meant to push him away though! That wasn't what you wanted! But Kai? Kai is different. Kai-" I threw my hands in the air, unsure of what to say. "That was unintentional, where Kai aims each blow strategically." I crossed my arms and stared at the floor. "And you're going to send the rest of the ninja away while he's here? What is Konomi supposed to do with Cole gone? What the heck am I supposed to do with Zane gone? I will have no one to comfort me while he's here!"

"Thank you, Kiyuo, your friendship is deeply appreciated!" Wu said sarcastically. After a few moments of silence, Wu spoke again. "This is for the good of many, Kiyuo, the good of many." I didn't look at him, only nodded and watched him leave to find his last student.

* * *

" _Okay, watch carefully." My mother said sternly. "Stitching takes a delicate hand."_

 _I watched as my mother began sewing a wound. The man she worked on was one we were close to, his name was Sensei Wu. He'd fallen the night prior and even though he didn't really need stitches, my mom took the opportunity to show me how to soucher cuts. Ever since Morro got whipped, she'd been speeding up my training. In the past week alone she'd taught me how to properly do stitches, how to make and apply anesthetics and how to treat infection. We were moving so quickly I didn't know if I would be able to remember all of it. About half way through, she slowly handed the bone needle to me and told me to try. Anxiously, I started. Wu watched me as I worked, and it only made the task that much more daunting. Even though I felt as though I was doing everything wrong, my mother did not stop me, and only intervened when I didn't know how to end the stitch. When it was done, my mother examined my work. "It's certainly not perfect, but it is much better than I anticipated." She always did that. I never knew if she was praising me or if she was chiding me._

 _Just after I finished, the sound of the front door opening could be heard. "Kiyuo! There's a boy here who wants to see you!" My father was finally home! Right after Morro got in trouble, my father had to leave because someplace was being sieged by Samukai and his army. It had taken an entire week to finish the fight._

" _A boy?" My mother said furrowing her brows. "Why would a boy be here for you?" That would be an insult to any southern raised culture, but it wasn't. Typically, boys only came to the houses of girls if they wished to marry them. Boys ages twelve to twenty would do this. So, for once, my mother had actually been concerned for me._

" _I don't know." I said with a shrug. "Maybe it's Isara's brother, Maiko." Maiko was four years younger than Isara and I. He sometimes joined us in our games or went frog hunting with us. ._

" _You'd better go see who it is." Wu said. "You were talking about how you'd just die to marry."_

 _He'd heard that too? The only person I told that to was my father. Though I suppose Wu and my father were close friends, what with my dad being Elemental and all that. "Come on!" My mother said taking my hand, leading me toward the front door. As we got closer, we could hear two people talking in hushed voices. When we got there, waiting for us was my father and a boy I didn't recognize with his father._

 _When my father grinned brightly. "There you are! Kiyuo, this is Ozaka Akai and this," He said motioning with his hand. "Is his son, Sakai Ozaka." Trying to keep my nervousness in check, I looked at the two._

 _The father looked a lot like my father. They had the same round face with dark brown eyes and greying black hair. The boy he'd brought though, didn't look much like his father. He had dark brown hair and lighter brown eyes, with a slightly more triangular face shape. He was a little taller than I was, but not by much. "Nice to meet you both!" I bowed -as was absolutely mandatory if you'd never met the person before. I spoke a little quieter than I meant. It would be a few years before I became outgoing._

" _Y-you too!" Sakai said, also bowing._

" _Tomoya, what's this about?" My mother finally spoke from the doorway. "You can't possibly expect to marry her off yet!"_

 _My father snorted and chuckled, Sakai's father also laughed. "No, not yet." My father said. "But soon. She will be fifteen in less than three years. I just thought it would be wise to start looking." All I had to say was that my father was off to a great start. Sakai was easily one of the most attractive kids I'd ever met. Hopefully he had a personality to match._

" _Kiyuo, I assume your father has told you why we're here?"_

 _I shook my head. "He actually didn't say anything."_

 _My father and Sakai's father exchanged amused glances. They thought this was funny, but I was kinda hurt. My father had never kept anything from me! "Well, then let me explain now then." He said resting a hand on my shoulder. "You know that once you turn fifteen, men -like Sakai- can ask to marry you. But before that, when a girl turns twelve, arrangements can be made between parents to reserve a daughter beforehand."_

" _Is that what this is?" I asked._

" _Yes it is." My father and Sakai's father chorused._

" _They'd better start getting to know each other then." My mother said._

 _I couldn't agree more._

* * *

I was expected to have the Ninja gone by the time Wu came back. I had to think of something quick. Kai didn't live in Jamanekai village, but he lived close. This was the only place for miles that he could come and buy the metal he needed to be a blacksmith. I would have to be quick and resourceful. First checking to see if Konomi was still asleep, I made my way to the room the guys shared. I knocked loudly before going in. Before I could slide the door open, Zane poked his head out. "Good morning, Kiyuo!" He greeted with his small, yet beautiful smile. "What do you need?"

"Is everyone awake? I need to talk to you all." I said quietly.

"Unfortunately, no, they're not awake. Would you like me to wake them up?"

"If you would." I said with a small nod.

At that, Zane closed the door and woke Jay up. They though, from what I could hear, could not wake Cole up. I knocked again. "Need help? Mothers know how to wake people up, just ask Konomi." No answer.

After about five more minutes of rough shoving and loud noises, Zane and Jay got Cole up. The only reason I knew they got him up was because his snoring suddenly stopped and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "HONEY, WHERE ARE MY PANTS!?"

Jay burst out laughing but Zane remained silent. Unfortunately, that also woke Konomi up. He wobbled out into the hallway, rubbing his eyes and dragging a stuffed rabbit that was missing an ear behind him. "Mom, what's going on? Why is everyone yelling?"

I shook my head and shrugged. "I don't know, Koi. Boys are just weird."

"No they're not! Girls are gross!"

"You tell her, Konomi!" Jay called from the room. I struggled to keep myself from laughing.

I sighed and looked at Konomi. "Don't listen to Jay, he's a terrible role model."

"Hey!" He snapped sliding the door open.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Cole called from the room.

Jay slid the door all the way open. "Kay, so Cole is up and Zane said you wanted to tell us something. Spill it!"

"It's not much, only four words. You need to leave."

" _ **What**_?" Together Cole, Jay and Zane created a chorus of confusion.

"Why? I just got here!" Jay whined.

"That is what you think!" Zane said, almost sounding concerned. "I arrived here only two days ago!"

"Kiyuo, what's this all about?" Cole asked, cutting through Jay's panic and Zane's confusion.

"Sensei says he needs to test you! He's going to send you three someplace to protect it. Do not fear! You will come back!"

"But when?" Cole asked.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I don't know. All I know is that when the time is right, you will be called back."

"Where are we going?" Jay asked.

"Small town south of here called Ignacia." I said. "It's only seven miles away."

"Seven? I guess that's not so bad." Jay said.

"You're right. It's not." I said simply. "While there, you will protect the town and its people."

"Hold on a second, K." Cole said. "Aren't the people down there just as hateful as they are here? How am I supposed to help?"

"You have to prove to them that you mean no harm. Cover your face and your hands. Don't let them see who you are until the day you leave."

"And us?" Jay asked.

"Shut it, Jay! The village always liked the two of you." Cole snapped.

"Cole is correct, Jay. The women down there were quite smitten with you, despite the language barrier."

"Don't remind me." Jay sighed. "But Zane and I have totally proven ourselves to that village! Why do we have to go?"

"Because that's what Wu told me! Don't shoot the messenger!"

"Right, right." Jay said taking a deep breath. "When do we go?"

"As soon as possible. Get packed, get everything of importance and take it with you." I said. ""Especially weapons."

"We don't have any weapons." Cole said. "All the practice we've done uses fake or wooden weapons."

"Not anymore!" I said. "Get all of your things, and I will show the weapons you were destined to have."

They must have been really excited to see what Wu left for them because not five minutes went by before the three were packed. "What'd he give us?" Jay said excitedly, almost bouncing.

"Calm down," I said with a smile. "When Wu left, he told me it was time." I said. "You are more than ready to train with weapons. Zane especially. You've been here only two days and you're nearly as skilled as Cole and Jay. So," I said reaching into a chest for the first weapon. "Now we're here! And the first to receive their weapon will be Zane." Zane perked up a bit hearing his name. His face was completely expressionless, save for his eyes, which sparkled with excitement. "Sensei suggested these," I said pulling out a bow and seath. "You also get these," I said handing him a bag of throwing stars. "They're not very accurate though, so I'd rely on the bow."

Zane held the weapon like it was a newborn baby. He ran his fingers up and down the length of it. "It's made of oak." He said quietly. "That's a rather strange wood to make a longbow from."

"I know." I said in Kahnan. "Oak is a hardwood. It will take immense strength to draw it. It was first used by the Elemental Master of Life. He drew strength from the wood, since it possesses the life force of an entire oak tree. The bow lent him strength to draw it. At least that's what the legends say. Practice with it every day." I said. "Don't forget about the shurikens." Zane nodded, allowing the smallest of smiles to appear on his face.

"And me? What's my weapon?" Jay asked, nearly ready to explode with excitement.

"You get these!" I said pulling out a set of nunchucks. Jay looked a little less excited than he had been a moment ago. "Don't look so sad!" I said. "These are a good weapon to have." I said handing him his weapon. "But don't rely solely on them. Learn to use other weapons too." Zane spoke rapidly, trying to translate what I said.

Once I handed Jay his weapon, Cole barked, "What's my weapon?!" I had never seen him so excited.

In all reality, Cole's weapon was _not_ a weapon. Traditionally, it was used to harvest wheat, barley and other crops. His weapon was a scythe. "I'm not exactly sure what Wu was thinking when he decided to give this to you." I said, Zane attempting to keep up with what I said. "Historically speaking, Masters of Earth have used gauntlets, war hammers, maces, spears and staffs as their weapons. But I suppose this," I said pulling out a five foot long scythe from a weapon cabinet. "Will suit you well." I held the scythe out to him. I can't quite tell you what kind of face he had when I gave him the weapon. It was full of awe, and reverence, as if the scythe was some kind of entity. "The blade is made from tungsten. It's heavy, so be careful. It's even heavier than lead."

"Lead, huh? Hm. I wonder why it's made out of that…" He said holding the scythe horizontally. "It's not that heavy."

"Not for you maybe," I said. "But for me, for Jay? It would be difficult to wield." I said, Zane still translating.

"What's this part made of?" Cole asked pointing to the handle.

"Black ironwood." I said. "It's a tough weapon."

The three stood entranced by their weapons. Well two of three, Jay still wasn't thrilled. "Why do they get cool, magical weapons while I get this?" He whined.

"Those are said to hold a sort of, how do I say, weather magic. It can't control storms, but it is said that they hold the fury of a hurricane. They were first used by the Master of Lightning."

"Was my weapon first used by the Master of Earth?"

I shook my head. "No. Yours is brand new, it was made specifically for you. Any ability, enchantment, magic, strength, or anything else that it might get will come from you."

"Cool." He said standing the weapon upright.

"Are you guys ready? It's time to go." I said.

The three looked at each other. Zane's eyes were filled with worry, Jay's with anticipation and Cole's with sadness. They all turned back to me and nodded. "We're ready." Zane said.

"Great. Follow me." I said.

Little known fact! Before the dragon stables were used as dragon stables, they were for horses. We had five, but once the Ninja got their dragons, we gave them away, one because we didn't have enough room for them, and two, if we kept them, the dragons would have eaten them anyway. But at this time, we had five.

"So how long did you say we'd be gone?" Jay asked mounting a grey horse.

"I don't know yet." I said. "All I know is that you will be called back."

"We should probably get going if we want to get to Ignacia by sundown." Cole said getting settled on a large bay.

"I agree." Zane said mounting a white horse. "Goodbye, Kiyuo!" He said a bit brighter than usual.

"Bye!" Jay said and immediately began trotting away.

"See ya', K." Cole said, and took off after Jay.

"Shoto kotoya," I murmured quietly.

Shoto kotoya is a form of 'good-bye' only used when someone is leaving on a journey or trip. It means, if translated literally back into English, "May you walk well." It is a wish of safety, health and shelter.

I worked anxiously to prepare supper. I knew Wu would return soon, an anxious Kai in tow. I slipped out of thought while chopping vegetables and cut myself in the process. "Bad luck." I said. Cutting yourself was said to be a bad omen. The moment one cuts themself with a knife, something bad happens. In my experience, this is always true.

After an hour of preparing, I heard footsteps in the courtyard. I knew exactly who it was, and let me say that I was not thrilled. I nearly cut myself again upon hearing Kai's voice. It was at that point that I decided that putting down the knife was the best option. I knew the routine that Wu would use. He would test Kai and see how much he knew. By what I heard, he knew very little and had a long way to go before he would be able to be a Ninja. "Today you have failed, tomorrow we can try again." And with that, Wu appeared inside. I must have looked horrible when I saw him, because his look of amusement quickly faded into one of concern. "Everything will be okay." He said quietly.

I hoped he was right. I was so afraid. I didn't know what Kai might do to me, even worse, to my son. "I hope you're right." I said setting out what I had prepared. Not wanting to bring attention to myself by calling to him, I went and fetched Konomi for myself. When we came back, Kai had placed himself where Cole usually was. I wanted to make him move, because that place was where someone better than him was meant to be.

Upon seeing us, Kai's eyes narrowed. For once, however, he said nothing. I told Konomi to keep quiet as well. For the first time in a long time, dinner was silent, and not in the good, refreshing kind of way. The room was filled with a thick, palpable disgust that tainted everything.


	6. Chapter 6 The Red Death

_The summer of my fourteenth year was a warm and gentle thing, a rarity in Heian. We received generous amounts of rain, and even more sun. Crops grew tall and strong, much more than they had in years past. The herb garden my mother and I tended to produced fruitfully and gave us more than enough to get me through the winters. We had also seen many more travelers come through to trade with us. That was truly a treat. When travelers and traders came, they brought new medicine and wares of all kinds. My mother and I often traded for things like penicillin and morphine- drugs that were far superior to any we could produce. All of this would help us get through the winter to come._

 _Oh the winter…_

 _Whenever a summer like this occurred, the winter would be brutal; if a summer was full of warmth, prosperity, the winter would be rough and spiteful. It would be harsh and vile. It would be angry, and it would kill._

 _That was just the nature of Heian's weather. It was always like this. If the summer was harsh, the winter was mild; if the summer was gorgeous and beautiful, the winter would be evil._

 _But for now, the summer was with us, and the summer was lovely. And since this summer was the one in which I was fourteen, I would be preparing for something very important that would be happening in less than a year._

 _My marriage._

 _The plans between my family and Sakai's family had been finalized, I would be marrying Sakai in eleven months time. His family had generously given beyond what was expected for a dowry. Since Sakai's family was wealthy, they had no problem getting my family whatever they wanted in exchange for me._

 _Sakai told me that my father had fought hard for a good dowry. My mother was easily gratified, but he was not. He'd demanded that they pay for the building of the home in which Sakai and I would live, the furnishings in it, clothing that would be worn at the wedding, jewelry for my mother, and, of course, four goats. When I was told about how high the price for my hand was, I was aghast. What I did not know, though, was how wealthy Sakai's family really was. This was nothing to them! Not only did they own multiple shops in the marketplace, they also owned a two hundred head heard of cattle, and one hundred fifty goats. Their wealth was beyond what I could imagine._

 _Once, I saw Sakai's father in the marketplace and asked him about why he allowed such a high price to be paid for my hand, he said that I was easily the most suitable choice. He didn't elaborate further. I wanted to ask more questions, I wanted answers, but I didn't get them that day. Even so, I figured that I could ask someone else why his father had given so much. After all, the dowry my father requested was ridiculous by traditional standards. It wasn't normal at all. Typically, jewelry, clothing, livestock, or commodities were given. My father's request was ridiculous… But Sakai's father paid it._

 _Everything was now finalized. No going back._

 _Now traditional procedure would begin._

 _Step one? Supervised conversation._

" _So…" Sakai breathed awkwardly. "Um…. What do you like to do for fun?" The question came out quickly. He had no idea what to say._

" _I-" The question stopped me short. What did I like to do for fun? What did I even do when I was free? "Well, I… Mm. Is it weird to say I like to take care of people?" I ask, tracing my finger in the dirt._

" _Mm," He said with a shrug.. "I mean that's not something you usually hear." He chuckled lightly. "But I don't think it's weird." He glanced up at me from the little twig house he was working on. When our eyes met, his eyes quickly flashed back to their original place. "I bet you get that from your father."_

 _I glanced up at father, who was standing close by._

 _I allowed myself to smile, making sure he wasn't looking as I did so. "But I really like music too."_

" _You do?" I gave a nod. I knew Sakai loved string music. It was one of the things my mother had found out from his father. Just one more reason to like him. "And you?" I ask looking down at him._

" _Me?" He looked up at me, his beautiful brown eyes glittering in the light. "Well, I like to build things," He looked up at me and smiled. "I have ever since I was little." He motioned to the little house._

" _Is that what you want to do?" I asked, gathering pebbles._

" _What? Build things?"_

 _I nodded as I collected more little stones. "Well, yeah."_

" _If I could, I would." Sakai said with a sigh._

 _I didn't know what that was like. Sakai was from a family higher than mine. He lived at a rank that was above working. They didn't have to work for what they had. Sakai's family owned five or six of the shops in the marketplace, and this made them one of the well off families of the village. Sakai was above working, and he would be shamed and ostracized if he tried to do it. "I wish I knew how you feel."_

" _No, you don't." Sakai said. It came out a little rough, the way he said it. He must have realized as much, and quickly apologized. I accepted his apology and went about setting the pebbles I'd collected around the small structure he'd built. "What are you doing?_

" _Making it look nice." I said. "And look," I took some mud from the puddle in front of us and used it to glue the pebbles together. Once it had dried, I set the little stack of pebbles up against the home like a chimney. "You need a fireplace or the people living here will freeze to death."_

" _Yeah! You're right. I completely forgot about that!" And with that, he went about improving my little addition to the home._

 _I also started placing pebbles around the house in little patterns, making it look like a little path down to the puddle, which was the lake in my young mind. "Is this what our house is going to look like, you think?"_

" _Maybe…" He said quietly, his face gradually getting pinker. "My family is paying for our house, so if you want it to be like this…" He said trailing a little._

 _I bit the inside of my lip and looked at the little house we'd made. I glanced down at Sakai, who was placing sticks as barriers around the house. "What's that?"_

" _A garden. Do you like flowers?"_

 _I pressed my lips together and shrugged. "Some. I haven't ever seen any really nice flowers, only the ugly ones we use in herbalism." I said taking tiny twigs and pressing them vertically into the dirt to make them look like flowers._

" _I think you'd like the flowers my mother grows." Sakai said sweetly. "They're bright colors of all different kinds." He looked up at me, his mahogany hair falling into his eyes a little. Gods he was so beautiful… "What's your favorite color?"_

 _I smiled. "White." I said. "I've been told it's not a color, but white."_

" _Funny you say that!" He said with a bright smile. "That's my sister's favorite color too!"_

 _I wasn't surprised. The higher classes prefered pale colors, the highest classes adored white, not because it was beautiful, but because it was rare and the lower classes couldn't get it. Like everything else, white clothing was a sign of rank and prosperity, so naturally only the richest could afford it. My family certainly wouldn't have been able to get it._

" _Well, um…." Sakai pressed his lips together and looked at me. "I brought something for you."_

 _I shyly looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. "What is it?"_

 _He reached into a pocket in his shirt and pulled out a little bracelet. It was one of a common sort, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. "Miha and I were out shopping yesterday, and I saw it. It reminded me of you." It was a silver bracelet, but it probably wasn't actual silver. It had little beads made from clear quartz, my birthstone. "Do you like it?"_

 _Yes. I loved it. It obviously hadn't been expensive, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever owned. "How much was it?"_

" _N-not much. Only two or three yuo."_

" _It's so pretty for how cheap it was."_

" _Yeah, I thought you'd like it."_

" _I do. It's beautiful."_

* * *

" _Hey!" Someone called loudly. I whipped around, startled. A pair of angry, brown eyes met mine. He always looked angry._

" _Hi, Morro!" I said brightly, hoping I could lighten his spirits a bit. "Did you go up to the monastery like I told you?"_

 _He snorted and looked away from me as he crossed his arms. "I don't need that guy's pitty."_

" _Morro, look at yourself," I said quickly lifting his shirt. He was so skinny that it was a miracle he could even stand. "You're going to die!"_

" _I'd rather die with dignity than live in shame.!" He snapped pulling his shirt back down._

" _What if I got you something?"_

" _I don't want your charity either!"_

" _It's not charity! My dad gave me some money for healing some people. I earned this, and you're my friend, so-"_

" _Nope. I just came to give you this." He said tossing an object to me. I hardly caught it, and a few times it slipped from my hands before I successfully got a hold on it. When I had a grip on it, I opened my hands to see what they had caught._

 _I was so stunned that I almost dropped it. It was a necklace -a gold necklace. It was on a fragile chain, one that was less than impressive. It was the jewel that hung from it that stunned me so. It was the real reason I nearly passed out. It held a sapphire almost as big as my thumbnail. "Where did you get this?!" I cried. "There's no way you could have gotten this without steal-"_

" _I'm not a thief!"Morro snapped, cutting me off. "It was my mom's. My dad was going to sell it, and I had to pay you."_

" _No you didn't."_

" _Correction, I had to pay your mother."_

 _I opened my mouth to speak, but then slowly closed it. He was right, My mother would have demanded payment, even from a starving boy… This necklace would go to my mother. I looked down at the necklace, and quickly looked up to thank him. "Don't mention it." He looked away from me. "I'm going to the monastery…" He said quietly._

" _You are?"_

 _He nodded. "I don't have any other choice." He said, his brown eyes partially hidden by his furrowed brows._

" _I thought you didn't want his charity!" I was so confused._

" _I don't! But I also like living."_

" _Morro, you literally just said that you weren't going!"_

" _Do you not want me to go!"_

" _No! Go! Go!"_

" _Then be quiet!" He snapped, his face turning red from embarrassment. "I'll see you soon. I promise."_

" _You'd better get going. It's going to get cold."_

* * *

 _I looked down at my hands. The cracked and bleeding skin stung if I touched anything. Winter had been the cruelest I'd ever seen; everyone had become a victim. People died, people starved, people fell, people went missing. For those who went missing, we would likely never find them. The leopards that live up here never leave their prey until it's gone. They became salt to the sea, the ocean being the snow; snow that never ceased. Winter had us in his grip. And he wasn't letting go._

 _I didn't know what happened to Morro, Morro had gone missing. All I knew is that he had been making his way to the Monastery of Spinjitzu, like I had told him in the fall. I saw him going up, but he never came back down, and I did not get word from Wu as to weather or not he had made the journey successfully. He was either very dead or very alive. If he had somehow made it up to the Monastery before the snow fell, then he would be warm and protected. He'd have a home and he would finally have something to eat. I had hoped all week, and even prayed a few times. He was one of few people I could call my friend._

 _And then the plague came…. The damned plague that the Metlonian colonizers brought, their final gift to us. It came into every house and took what was dearest to them. Mothers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters... Fathers…_

 _A loud crash echoed from the other room. I snapped to attention and rushed over to see what had happened. Silently, I peeked in to see my mother cleaning up a glass bowl filled with a strong scented paste. Even this far away, I could smell it. "Niha, please let me help." My father murmured as he helped my mother pick up what she'd dropped._

" _No. This is my job." My mother said. "Please, don't remind me of my failure." I knew what they were cleaning up. It was no medicine. It was a symbolic paste used in last rites ceremonies. My stomach clenched as I watched the black paste ooze all over the floor. It took all of my strength to keep still and quiet. I looked down at the patient. His black hair had greyed profusely over the last week. His once beautiful white skin was now a sickly red-grey. When he turned his head in my direction, I could see his eyes. The whites of his eyes had turned dark crimson._

 _A week… He'd lasted much longer than most patients that we'd had. But just because he'd lasted this long, didn't mean he would stay alive. By the look of him, he had a day or so left. If one looked closely, they would be able to see the veins under his skin. "Ni, I can save him." The urgency in my father's voice was heartbreaking._

 _My mother nodded and took a step back, taking with her the shattered bowl. Slowly, my father knelt down beside the dying man. He laid his hands on his chest and then his forehead on his hands so that he was bowed over the man. I watched intently. Slowly, a green light spread out from my father's hands. It leeched out all over the man's body, slowly engulfing him. After a few tense moments, my father sat back up. The light slowly faded. When it was all gone, the man was healed. He sat up and then stood up. He turned his hands over and over. His skin was its normal pale color instead of the ugly pale grey-red the plague had dyed it. The whites of his eyes would forever be dyed red, that was the mark of the plague. Other than that, he was healthy. He stood up and thanked my father again and again, praising the gods for his magical abilities._

 _But it wasn't magic. It was just his element. Life._

 _My father had the power to return life to those who were severely injured or dying. It took a great deal of energy, but even if he were dying, he would beg to help someone else. He had a deep love for people and showed it in times like these. For days he'd been gone healing people around the village._

" _Kiyuo!" My mother finally had caught me. I snapped out of my thoughts and stood to face her. "I told you not to come near this part of the house!" I didn't want to look at her face. She would be wearing an oino mask, no doubt. The mask would be decorated with dark colors, black, grey, blood red, and would have little flecks of white on it. "You could get sick!"_

 _My father laughed and walked over to me. He knelt down a bit and kissed me on the forehead. A warmth spread across my body. I'd seen my father do this to other people. If there were any sicknesses in me, they would have been killed. I would also be immune to sickness for a very short time. "Now you'll be safe for a while." My father said._

" _Kiyuo, go!" My mother snapped. Quickly, she turned to go and take some supplies from a long table in the back of the room. She quickly packed it all up, and walked back over to me. "The Ozaka family needs a caregiver too." Would there be a single soul free of this sickness?_

" _Who is sick?"_

" _Sakai."_

* * *

 _I had never run so fast in my life. Sakai lived on the other side of Jamanekai village, but that did not phase me. Before I'd left, I snatched the bracelet he left me and put it on. I took off in the direction of his home as fast as I could manage -unfortunately, that was not very fast. The ice was thick and the wind strong._

 _When I did arrive, the whole family was up in tears._

 _Sakai's mother Miha was hunched over, sobbing into her hands, Osaka was right beside her, comforting her as best he could. Sakai's younger siblings, Zokka and Taki sat at their mother's feet, looking unsure of what was really happening. Sakai's older sister, Shona, stood in the kitchen, a small cup in her hands. "Miha? Ozaka?" I said calmly. "Where is Sakai?"_

 _The family looked up at me with owlish eyes, all at once. "Oh, dear! You should not be here, this is too much for you, go get your mother! She can take care of Sakai!"_

" _She's busy." I said. "She's taking care of a lot of other patients." Though this was true, I wasn't sure if_ caring for _was the right phrase. Look after them, perhaps, but not care. "So, it is for the best that I tend to Sakai."_

 _Miha and Ozaka looked over at each other, their faces uncertain. "Do you know how to treat this?" Miha asked, her voice hopeful._

" _No one does." I say quietly. "But I know how to tend to them in the way my mother does. I will do my best." Miha must have known I was telling her the truth. Why would I do anything different? I loved Sakai, knowing he was sick hurt me as much as it did them, whether they knew it or not._

" _I'll take you to him," Miha said quietly. Slowly, she stood and she lead me to a dark and quiet back room._

 _When we arrived, Sakai was sitting up against the wall. My mother told me that he'd just recently become sick. If that was true, then I did have a chance to heal him. If someone could get rid of the sickness before both of the person's eyes turned red, then the person would survive._

 _There was hope for Sakai. His left eye had only just begun turning pink, there was time left. But even though he theoretically could be saved, he looked awful. His skin was the same sickly color as the man my father healed, and he'd lost weight. "How long has he been sick for?"_

" _Two days."_

" _Two?" The plague, the red death, often killed quickly, but Sakai's case was very strange. It was moving slower. Though he'd lost weight, it was not as much as most others. He'd lost maybe four pounds; typically, people would have lost ten pounds by now. "That's a good sign. He's not lost much weight."_

" _You think so?" Miha asked quietly._

" _Yes. Typically, people at this stage of the sickness are much worse. He's doing better than most."_

" _Does that mean he'll live?"_

" _I don't know." I said honestly. "I wish I could say. You should go. I don't want anyone else to get sick."_

 _Reluctantly, Miha left and we were alone. I looked at Sakai, hoping he could not see my fear. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" Sakai asked quietly._

" _Like I said, I don't know." I say, not quite able to meet his eyes._

" _Just tell me, I want to know the truth!"_

" _I don't know if you're going to die yet! I don't know how progressed the disease is." I sigh quietly. "Let me take a look at you." I set down all of my things and approached him. For ten minutes, I examined his whole body. His ribs were showing, and his skin continued to change color as I examined him. If all went well, though, he would be okay. "If the gods are merciful, you'll be fine."_

" _But how much mercy have they been showing to us?"_

 _I looked up at Sakai. Recently, he'd begun growing taller, so now I had to look up at him. "Lay down, Sakai."_

 _He did as told, but reluctantly. I then went about the procedure my mother had shown me. It wasn't complex, but it took great care. First, we'd usually have the patient eat a spoonful of cherry cherry jam that had a strong medicine in it. It would -if we were lucky- kick start the patient's appetite and make them want to eat. After that, we'd apply a streak of green paste made of onions and other strong smelling herbs would usually kill the bacteria that'd colonized in the nasal cavity. This would ensure that the patient would at least not die of asphyxiation. The bacteria that stayed in the nasal cavity would induce the body into making large amounts of mucus, which would clog the nose, and if the patient was particularly unlucky, the back of the throat. I'd seen two or three victims of this plague die that way, but that was uncommon. Next, we'd have them eat a little bit. This served two purposes. It would show whether or not the jam had worked and it would then help the patient gain strength. If the roll stayed down, then we'd have them drink water. This whole process would be repeated every two hours. If the patient improved, we'd feed them more and make them drink equally as much._

 _I watched Sakai as he ate the first bit of food. "Do I have to eat?" He asked, his brows furrowed in a sad manner. "I'm not hungry."_

" _I know you're not hungry. That's part of the disease." I say quietly. "But try to eat as much as you can. If you feel too sick to keep eating, stop. I don't want you to throw it up. You need it."_

" _Please, do I have to?"_

" _Yes. Unless you think you can't."_

 _Sakai then took another bite and then quickly put the roll down. "I can't eat more."_

" _Okay." I didn't want to push him any further._

 _"Kiyuo," Sakai said quietly. I_ _looked up, waiting for him to continue. "I don't want to die."_


	7. Chapter 7 Return

I tried to stay out of his way. Kai was a force to be reckoned with, and I didn't want any unnecessary confrontation. I acted like a good woman would. I cleaned up after him, cooked for him, and never spoke out of turn. I remained silent unless called upon. I waited on him hand and foot, something a woman was expected to do in Jamanekai Village. That seemed to surprise him. Typically when Kai and I came face to face, there were screaming matches and occasionally fights. Some days passed without conflict, but others did not. "Why didn't you send her away? You know what she is!" I heard Kai say to Wu late one night while cleaning up dinner.

"Yes, I'm fully aware." Wu said.

"She's cursed!"

"No, she's not."

"What? Of course she is!"

"Ah," Wu sighed softly. "You people and your superstitions. What has she done?"

"I'm not sure, but she must have done something to upset one of the Gods. Someone doesn't just lose everything without having done something wrong! You know the laws of Eob! She must have done something!" Eob is the goddess of both justice and revenge. She punishes those who have done wrong. It's believed that if someone has committed crimes in their past lives, they will be punished in their next. But she is also able to tell the future, so it's said that she will also punish those for crimes they've not yet committed. Most believe people like Morro and I have been punished because of a life we once led.

I quickly made my way over to the room in which they were speaking and crouched low to listen better. "No, all she's done, is lost." Wu said calmly. "Has she ever hurt anyone?"

"N-no, bu-"

"Has she done anything to you or Nya?"

"You should hear some of the nasty things she says about us!" Kai snapped. "And just because she's not hurt anyone in this life, doesn't mean her soul is clean! What about her past lives?"

"Kai, people's souls don't work that way."

"Well how do they work, oh greatly wise sensei?" Kai snapped in a bitter, sarcastic tone. "You don't even know half of the things she says about us! You think she's a perfect little angel, but she's not!"

"Well, you've been torturing her for a good deal of the time you've known her. How do you expect her to respond to that?" Wu took a quick sip of his tea, somehow managing to keep his anger in check. "And a more important question -how do you respond to that?"

Kai stuttered a bit, he would start to say something, and then stop. "But how do you lose that much and not be cursed?"

"I could ask you the same. Where are your parents, Kai?"

At that, Kai fell silent.

The truth was, no one knew where Kai's parents were. One day, they just disappeared. They never returned, so the people of the village assumed they'd died. But Kai's parents were both so respected that they didn't even consider ostracizing Kai and Nya. Some gossip fluttered around the village, naturally, but no one knew for sure what had truly happened to them. Some said that they were killed by bandits, others thought that they'd become traitors and left to uphold Krux and Acronix's mission. I didn't think that the latter was true, but it hurt Kai the most when said. I used it as a weapon against him on many occasions.

"If you believe so heavily in curses and punishment, why are you not being punished?"

"I don't know." Kai said. "Should I be?"

"No. No one should be punished for their destiny. That's like beating someone because it's started to rain. You are hurting them for something they had no control over."

"But all of the bad things! Sakai, her baby… And Tomoya." At 'Tomoya', Kai's voice grew quiet. Everyone had loved my father.

At the mention of my father, my heart shattered. He would not have stood for what happened to me. He would have fought. My father was killed only a year after Sakai. I witnessed it, I was the one who found him. The person who did it wore a dark red straw hat and and eyepatch. The rest of his face was hidden. My father, who never hurt anyone, who did everything he could to help and save anyone and everyone, was murdered for the money he carried. The coward ran off that night. He was never brought to justice. "And then she remarried that _thing_! She could have had her pick of the litter, but she chose," Kai shuttered. "Him."

At that, Wu got upset. "That _thing_ was precious to her. He knew what it was like to be forgotten, to be hated and abandoned. He knew pain. They found solace in each other. Never speak badly about him in my presence, understand?"

"Yes, forgive me, Sensei."

"Kai, what you need to understand about Kiyuo is that she's got no control over what has happened to her. All she's done is lost and lost and lost, and continues to lose because the people in Jamanekai Village believe that it is some kind of punishment."

"You don't think it is?"

"Of course not. My father created Ninjago and destiny. Believe you me, I know this is no punishment."

"So it's all by chance that her life is so bad, and that my parents just disappeared?" I will admit, Kai did not suffer persecution like I did, but from time to time, people like my mother and the higher classes would taunt him for his parents' disappearance. Superstition will win over any affinity the people have with each other. They are a cruel people.

Wu sighed. I imagined him nodding, and running his hand down his beard. "For the most part, yes." He said quietly. "Well. It's getting late, and you have training tomorrow. I suggest you go to bed."

I scurried back to the kitchen and continued to clean up. As I did, I could feel Kai's stare burning into my back. It lasted so much longer than it should have, but eventually he left and went to bed. As I put all of the dishes away, I felt a light hand on my shoulder. "I don't think you can convince him." I sighed. "Trying to explain it to him is like throwing granite into a lake and expecting it to float." I said, leaning on my hands. "It will not happen."

"Maybe not with granite, but Kai is not granite. He's pumice. Holes are being discovered in what he believes in. That allows for air, which will keep him afloat." Wu said. "One day, and one day soon, he will understand."

"I hope you're right."

The next morning, I woke up to the sounds of someone training. This was a common thing now. Kai wanted to prove himself good enough. He wanted Nya back. She had been missing now for almost three months. Since Nya was the only family that Kai had left, he was eager to get her back and keep her safe. He'd always been that way. He'd protected her and shielded her so heavily, that she became rebellious on occasion. I could understand why Kai wanted to keep her safe, but in his quest to keep her safe, he'd forgotten just who his parents had been. His mother was lithe, agile and smart; his father was brave, tough and determined. Nya was the perfect balance between her parents, and she had proven countless times that she did not need Kai's protection.

It wasn't uncommon to see Nya among the common and poorer residents of Jamanekai Village. She would play cards and gamble, run races, participate in fights and sometimes join in parties and dances that they held. Even at such a young age, she was wiser and calmer than her brother. She had outfoxed him more times than I could count. Nya was only fourteen, and Kai was eighteen. How she managed to even get to Jamanekai village was a mystery to me. They lived seven miles south of Jamanekai village in a small town called Ignacia. Seven miles was a long way to walk for a fourteen year old girl on her own.

She was an impressive kid though. It was no wonder that all of the boys in the village were so enamored with her. Even though she was fourteen, Kai had shot down every single one of her suitors' advances. This frustrated Nya greatly. I wouldn't call her the "marriage" type, something I certainly was, but she did like the attention boys gave her. She was a very masculine girl compared to the rest of the women and girls in the village. She was independent, and the guys around here liked that! When I was her age, boys liked girls that relied on them. It made them feel useful. Morro was like that anyway. He always told me that he just wanted to find someone who relied on him, instead of him having to rely on someone else.

I quickly got up and dressed myself. Konomi was already gone, running around who knows where. I was fine with that, though. The further my son was from Kai, the better. I tied my hair back and quickly went to start breakfast. When I got to the kitchen, Kai was already awake and making breakfast. That was my job, why was he doing it? "What are you doing?" I said in a quiet, but commanding tone. When I spoke, Kai startled. He turned to face me.

"Making breakfast, what does it look like?" Though hostile, his tone was a bit less hateful than in the past.

"Right, of course. I should have guessed that." Kai looked at me dully, I couldn't read him.

"I made enough for all of us," Kai said. "I'm not the best cook, but it's something."

I supposed he as right. As I scooped some of the miso soup into the bowl, I noticed that Kai had put fish and egg slices in it. Those were unusual ingredients around here. Typically, miso soup is only used for ramen, and ramen here usually doesn't have eggs or fish. But I didn't mind. As odd as it looked, it was actually very good. It had enough salt, a bit of pepper. He'd even put ginger in it, which gave it a bit of an aftertaste, but aside from that, it was actually okay. "Why'd you make this? I could have."

"Well," Kai stared at his soup, his face loosened up into a look of fondness, but then he quickly shook it off. "I used to cook for Nya." He said, his face tightening up back into its typical scowl. "Just been missing it a little lately."

"Oh." I murmured quietly.

"I miss her."

"I can sympathize." I said, nodding as I ate. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've had my fair share of grief."

Kai visibly bit the inside of his lip -a habit I'd later realize gave away guilt. "I just wish I could have been there."

Nya had been kidnapped by the Sulkin Army, the army of Lord Garmadon. Wu had been correct. Garmadon was planning something, but what, we did not know. "Sometimes, there's nothing we can do. When Sakai died, I felt so helpless. If my father had lived long enough, he would have lived… Sometimes, destiny is just against you." I don't know where this is coming from. Typically Kai and I fight when we come in contact with each other, it's like sodium and water, we just don't mix. Even now, as I'm telling you this story, I can't count more than ten times when Kai and I have actually gotten along. "We'll get her back. We will."

Not much later, Wu woke up and took Kai out to train, leaving me to finish everything off. I poured some of the miso soup into a small bowl for Konomi to eat later and then put the rest away. After that, I walked back to my room and knelt before a small shrine to my ancestors. Some of them had names, others did not. Some had images, some didn't. I looked at Sakai's picture. It was uncanny how much like Kai he looked. That was fair I suppose, they were cousins after all. From their hair to their eyes, Sakai and Kai were practically the same person. Being a part of their family was the shortest, but sweetest thing I ever experienced. Sakai died not long after we married. He survived his encounter with the plague thanks to my father, but then my father was killed. Only a few months after my father died, Sakai followed, along with our young daughter. Disease wasn't a pretty thing. It took everything from everyone, but for some reason, it never touched me. I couldn't seem to die. Even when everything was stacked against me, I would somehow live. I've been sick before, but I've always healed. Maybe it was my father… He was never sick. Maybe his element allowed me to have a stronger immune system. Whatever the case, there have been many times in my life that I have wished to get sick and die, as it was the fate of everyone I seemed to care for. Except my father of course. Once he was killed, I had no choice but to live. I was his only child. I had to carry his legacy.

But what did that matter now?

There was nothing left. My life was burned to the ground, only ashes remain. There was nothing left for me, here or anywhere. I looked at the small painting my father had commissioned for my family during the spring festival. I was maybe nine years old. My father was smiling, and for once, so was my mother. It was only black and white, but it was still lovely. It was all I had left of my family. Everything else was gone.

I went to sleep, and didn't wake up until that night as everyone was going to bed. This would just be a night where I would not sleep, a fairly common occurrence. Konomi wasn't surprised by it. He went to bed without a word of protest. "Where did you go this morning?" I asked my son as he came into the room.

"Ignacia."

"Excuse me, _what_?" I didn't know what to say. "How did you get there!"

"Shoni," He said.

Right. The horse that hadn't been taken. "Why?"

"Wu said it's a surprise!" And with that, he ran off to bed. He wouldn't have said anything else even if I'd asked him.

* * *

Just as I was about to fall into a meditative trance, the loudest CRASH I've ever heard in my life sounded and startled me out of it. It took me a second to fully snap out of it, but once I had, I was rushing toward the sound of it. As I grew closer, I could hear people fighting. Someone had broken in!

Just as I reached the door to the front of the monastery, someone came flying down off of the roof and onto the ground in front of me. It was kai! After that, everything started blurring together. One second, the training course was down, the next, it was up. Even so, the three intruders fought around it. As I rushed out to help Kai, someone grabbed me and pulled me back. "Stay put! This is too much for you!" Wu spoke just fast enough for me to register it was him. He pulled me back behind the Monastery wall. "STOP!" He howled only moments later, walking out to face them.

In seconds the three intruders stepped back. "Yes, Sensei!" They said in unison.

"Wait a second," Kai and I said together. "They're your students too?!" Kai finished without me.

"No." I said breathlessly, almost denying the fact that they could be...

"This was my final test, wasn't it!" Kai gasped.

"Woah, woah, woah! You never said anything about a fourth! In fact-" The person flipped back his hood, revealing his face. Jay! "You explicitly said that Zane was your last student!" At the mention of Zane, the person to the left of Jay flipped back his hood. Zane! "C'mon, Sensei, it's always been three! Three Blind Mice, Three Musketeers, three-"

"What I think he's trying to say Sensei Wu, is that the three of us have trained together. We're solid!" Cole. Cole! They were home! They came back! That's where Konomi went!

Without another thought, I hiked up my skirt and raced toward Cole. When I collided with him, he let out an audible 'oof'. It took a second to register it was me, but once he did, he hugged me so tightly that I almost couldn't breathe. He lifted me up off the ground a few inches. After a moment, Jay and Zane joined in the reunion hug. I couldn't help myself, I started crying. For the first time in my life, someone had left and come home. "I missed you three so much! I was starting to think you'd never come home!" I said through the tears.

"Why would we not come home?" Zane inquired, his hand on the back of my head. "This is where we belong." His soft voice was soothing.

"We're always going to come back," Jay said. "This is home."

"And you're here." Cole said. "Why would go anywhere else, if you're here?" Even in this moment, Cole was being a sarcastic brat. He saw the tears and smiled. "You missed us that much?"

Softly, I said "I missed you that much."


End file.
